vd-online.net

If you ever plan …

Volker Dierks — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 18:25:24 +0000

… to travel to Hawai’i I can recommend these books:

Well, it’s no suprise and you likely stumbled over them on Amazon (or you favorite book store). They have great detailed Maps and all the gory details you need if you plan an individual travel to those Islands.

All these books are written by Andrew Doughty (who lives on Hawai’i) and published through Wizard Publications – they have a huge review-section on resorts and hotels for: Oahu, Big Island, Maui and Kauai.

Some (slight) downsides of these books:

Waipi’o Valley isn’t as easy accessible (with a 4WD) as Big Island Revealed might give the impression

The Kauai Guidebook (6th edition) is completely missing Inter-Island Helicopters (their Choppers have no doors) on Waimea Canyon and Na Pali Coast Tours

Unfortunately, those Books (and their Website) have no recommendations on B&Bs (just Resorts and Hotels)

You can easily find B&Bs through TripAdvisor, though (Search -> just enter the Town and Island -> Hotels -> B&Bs).

On the (back) road

Volker Dierks — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 13:51:16 +0000

Back in November I sorted out some “on the (back) road” movies and converted them into flash videos. Unfortunately, my camera had some color-problems in movie mode – I think this is since it became really wet on my Angels Landing Hike in 2007. Nevertheless, they remind me of a great vacation I had back in May/June 2008 (even though – they might become a little bit boring to you).

Anza-Borrego Desert – CA

I took this one on Day 4 in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park – part of the way back from Fonts Point to CA-78 (not S22). I crossed all the way between S22 (Borrego Salton Seaway) and CA-78 through the Washes and Backroads of the SP (which is really a 4WD eldorado).

Rammstein – Reise, Reise

Antelope Hwy – CA

I took this one on Day 6 on Antelope Hwy (I think a couple of miles after Pinon Hills) driving to Mojave. It was quite amazing – being on Mount San Jacinto earlier that day – to drive through this vast desert area populated all over with Joshua Trees.

Little Richard – Long Tall Sally

Red Rock Canyon – CA

I took this one on Day 7 in Red Rock Canyon State Park. The Park was kind of disappointing to me. I met some Rangers at the closed Visitor Center and they told me not to do 4WD roads east of CA-14 (my RAV4 wouldn’t make it). So I took an easy dirt road west of CA-14. There were many ATV and motorbike trails on the mountain sides – looks like a lot of fun if you drive them.

The Watchmen – Stereo

Sierra Drive – CA

I also took this one on Day 7 driving along Lake Kaweah @ Sunset. It was quite stunning approaching the Sierra Nevada as I started my day-trip from the desert (Mojave) in the morning.

Alanis Morissette – Uninvited

Driving through downtown Sonora – CA

I took this one on my first driving-day from Yosemite NP to Yellowstone NP – Day 12 – driving through historic Sonora downtown.

local radio

Driving along Black Rock Playa – NV

This is from the second driving-day to Yellowstone NP – Day 13 – along Black Rock Playa. With that music I had the feeling I wasn’t driving on planet earth.

Etnica – Starship 101

Driving on I15 – ID

This is from the third driving-day to Yellowstone NP – Day 14. I took this right after changing my rental car in Idaho Falls (Toyota RAV4 -> Chevrolet Trailblaizer). I blew a tire on Jungo Road a day before, so changing the car became necessary (the tire wasn’t repairable).

local radio

This blog ain’t dead yet …

Volker Dierks — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 23:24:29 +0000

Almost 8 month passed by without a post. I was really busy at my job – blabla – but it’s true. I managed to make a picture collection from my last south-west trip not unitl late November last year (almost 5 month after I returned). Beyond that, I had to make plans for my next trip in March/April which will take me to Hawai’i.

I had a chat with a former collegue of mine a couple of days ago and promised him to update my gallery with those pictures. Well, I’m currently uploading the first 18 days.

I also prepared some flash videos back in November which are missing some descriptions though. I’ll hope to take them online tomorrow.

Stay tuned ..

A message for Karl – The Subway

Volker Dierks — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 03:46:41 +0000

Hi Karl, perhaps you’re reading this before getting to The Subway. For good light you should start very early (around 4 am at Springdale). I met a German hiker on his way back to the North Fork trailhead around 11 am! He reached The Subway at 8 am and told me the light was good until 9 am. Another option is to leave late. In both cases – don’t forget your headlight. These picture were taken around 4:45 pm. I forgot my headlight in the car so I couldn’t stay longer.

I asked one of the groups which were coming down from the top to use their rope and take the short track to North Pole:

Anyway .. have a nice hike, Volker

4.5 Days in the Page Area

Volker Dierks — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 01:33:01 +0000

Two days ago I left Page, Arizona where I spent 4 wonderful days – three of them in the Backcountry at the Arizona/Utah border known as Coyote Buttes North + South and the White Pocket. On my way to Tropic, Utah I took a short (steep) hike to Yellow Rock at the Cottenwood Canyon Road.

Day 1 – Coyote Buttes North

Day 2 – White Pocket

Day 3 – Coyote Buttes South

Day 4 – Horseshoe Bend, Upper Antelope Canyon and Alstrom Point

Day 4.5 – Yellow Rock

Arrived at Yellowstone …

Volker Dierks — Mon, 19 May 2008 04:00:38 +0000

Three days ago I arrived at Yellowstone NP. My trip turned out to proceed as planned – except a flat tire five days ago. I had enough time to explore all Parks up to now. Tomorrow is my last day here at Yellowstone. This Park is really great to see all kind of wild animals.

Black Bear Mom

And her two Cubs

Another Black Bear

A black Wolf

Another Wolf

A Wolf having lunch

Buffalo

And some Pictures taken on my way to Yellowstone …

Squirrel @ Yosemite NP

Yosemite Falls

Yosemite Falls from Glacier Point

Half-Dome, Nevada and Vernal Falls from Glacier Point

View #1 from Panorama Trail @ Yosemite NP

View #2 from Panorama Trail @ Yosemite NP

Tunnel View

Fly Geyser #1, Gerlach, NV

Fly Geyser #2, Gerlach, NV

Next US Trip – Finalized

Volker Dierks — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 22:26:55 +0000

With a Coyote Buttes North permit for the 27th of May in my pocket, I had to make some last minute routing changes. I speculated to get the CBN permit for the 30/31 of May but that was not meant to be, which means I had to cut-off some days visiting Colorado – to be precise: Rocky Mountains National Park and a short visit of Denver.

In the past two days I also booked the last missing H/Motels for the arrival and depature cities – which are San Diego and Las Vegas. The vehicle for this trip – a midsize SUV – had been booked back in December last year. So what’s up next? Beside counting days, I’m going to apply The Subway lottery next month to (hopefully) receive a permit for early June.

This is the complete trip:

Day	Route/Stop	Sights	H/Motel
1	Hamburg – San Diego	-	Dolphin Motel
2	San Diego	San Diego/Tijuana	Dolphin Motel
3	San Diego	San Diego Zoo	Dolphin Motel
4	San Diego – Rancho Mirage	Anza-Borrego Desert State Park/Salton Sea	Motel 6
5	Rancho Mirage	Joshua Tree NP	Motel 6
6	Rancho Mirage – Mojave	Mt. San Jacinto SP	-
7	Mojave – Three Rivers	Red Rock Canyon SP/Lake Isabella	Comfort Inn
8	Three Rivers	Sequoia + Kings Canyon NP	Comfort Inn
9	Three Rivers – Mariposa	Giant Sequoia NM	Super 8
10	Mariposa	Yosemite NP	Super 8
11	Mariposa	Yosemite NP	Super 8
12	Mariposa – Carson City	Hwy 49 or Tioga Road + Mono Lake	-
13	Carson City – Wells	Fly Geyser	-
14	Wells – West Yellowstone	Craters of the Moon NM	Lazy G Motel
15	West Yellowstone	Yellowstone NP	Lazy G Motel
16	West Yellowstone	Yellowstone NP	Lazy G Motel
17	West Yellowstone	Yellowstone NP	Lazy G Motel
18	West Yellowstone	Yellowstone NP	Lazy G Motel
19	West Yellowstone – Jackson	Grand Teton NP	Motel 6
20	Jackson – Vernal	-	-
21	Vernal – Grand Junction	Dinosaur NM	-
22	Grand Junction – Montrose	Colorado NM/Grand Mesa	-
23	Montrose – Silverton	Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP/Box Canyon Falls	-
24	Silverton – Cortez	Million Dollar Hwy/Mesa Verde NP	-
25	Cortez – Page	Four Corners/Monument Valley	Bashful Bob’s Motel
26	Page	Coyote Buttes North	Bashful Bob’s Motel
27	Page	White Pocket	White Pocket
28	Page	Coyote Buttes South	Bashful Bob’s Motel
29	Page	Horseshoe Bend/Antelope Canyon/Alstrom Point	Bashful Bob’s Motel
30	Page – Tropic	Cottonwood Canyon Road/Kodachrome Basin SP	-
31	Tropic – Springdale	Bryce Canyon NP/Cedar Breaks NM	El Rio Lodge
32	Springdale	Zion NP	El Rio Lodge
33	Springdale	Zion NP	El Rio Lodge
34	Springdale – Las Vegas	Little Finland	Stratosphere
35	Las Vegas	Las Vegas	Stratosphere
36	Las Vegas	Las Vegas	Stratosphere
37	Las Vegas – Hamburg	-	Home sweet Home

- = no H/Motel reservation

Coyote Buttes North Permits

Volker Dierks — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 01:59:20 +0000

Since May 2007 permits for the Coyote Buttes North (CBN) area are not assigned on “first come first serve” basis any more. That time BLM introduced a lottery application form which looks pretty much the same as for The Subway at Zion NP managed by NPS. It’s quite hard to win the lottery because only 10 people per day recieve permits through the online lottery – some days have more then 100 applications with more then 400 people. If the first two drawn lottery applications are each for a group of 5 people, all other applications for that day are moved into the trashcan as the 10 people limit is reached.

But here is a trick: The lottery usually runs on the first day of every month. If you have applied but aren’t lucky, return to the BLM site on the 15th the same month and navigate to the CBN calendar. Reload the page exactly one second after 12 pm MST et voilà .. if you’re lucky some permits become available (shown in green) on random dates. I guess these are won lottery applications which were not payed or something like that.

And to cut a long story short .. guess what .. like last year, I got a CBN permit for the 27th of May. YEE HAA .. lucky me!

Gallery and E-Mail working …

Volker Dierks — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 20:37:53 +0000

I managed to integrate my photo gallery already three weeks ago. Because of the sidebar and a page width to fit 1024 px I’m not entirely happy with it but a layout switch (with a topbar) has to wait. Already uploaded are all the sorted-out-pictures from my last trip to the south-western US.

Incoming e-mail is working for a few days. You can e-mail me using these addresses:

Yellowstone & Grand Teton

Volker Dierks — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 15:06:00 +0000

After two days in bed with head-, throat- and body aches, I had plenty time to read two books and make some detail planning for Yellowstone and Grand Teton. My next trip to the US will bring me to those two National Parks where I’m going to stay five days in total (four at Yellowstone and one at Grand Teton).

They simply fit together perfectly so I’d like to recommend these two books to everyone who also intend to go there for a couple of days/hikes. The Moon Handbook gives a great overview and insight of all points of interests in and around the Parks (a little bit too much insights on Jackson Hole .. imo). It has some really nice overview maps which covers all POIs (e. g. Upper-, Lower-, Midway- and Norris Geyser Basins, Mammoth Hot Springs, Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, etc.). When those maps lack in detail, the Top Trail jumps in rights away. And the best Top Trails feature: It tells you when to go to have best light conditions for taking pictures – must be why it’s written by a photographer.